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XBox Linux HOWTOs
killmenow writes "Following up this slashdot story from a few days ago, today The Register is reporting that the XBox Linux folks have released a HOWTO for getting SuSE 8.0 running. Cool...I may have to go buy an X-Box now." There's also a HOWTO for Debian if that's your style. All of these require an XBox with modified hardware... There's also a story about the XBox online gaming service that implies Microsoft will be scanning your machine to make sure you haven't modified it, but we can't link to it since silicon.com has some sort of stupid registration requirement. Anyone find the story elsewhere? Ah, News.com has a story about XBox Live.
Could someone please post the EULA for the Xbox. I'm 99% certain that it said, essentially, "you can't use the software that comes with the xbox for anything but your xbox." That is, you can't use their software on another computer (making Xbox-emulators pretty difficult). I don't think it said anything else.
Furthermore, this restriction was only printed in a small box on one side of the product's shipping box -- nowhere did I see any EULAs on the unit itself, when I booted it up, or on any kind of sticker when I opened it up.
I'm just curious if they've since made it more restrictive. I know I was VERY surprised not to find a typical Microsoft EULA attached to a big red sticker pasted over the power supply, or somesuch.
That said, the "live network" could certainly deny access two whomever it wants -- be they people from another timezone, another country, or people using modded xboxes. But Microsoft shouldn't have any leg to stand on to prevent people from modding their boxes, except for the obvious one of avoiding copy protection on duplicated games (which wouldn't apply to 3rd party software, and *shouldn't* apply to backups). And Microsoft shouldn't go telling game companies that you've got a modded xbox and save folders on the hard driver for games X, Y, and Z (infering that they're illegally copied games).
Of course, what's right and legal is irrelevant when they've got more laywer money than most geeks with modded xboxes....
I'm betting there will be a new generation of stealth mods and hd swap kits for those who want to make the box 'clean' to get on XBL. I don't really feel like playing cat-and-mouse every day to stay ahead of the game. Online play has historically been one of the most effective (not 100% mind you) means of copy protection.
I don't really mind double posts on
Although some people will take the conspiritorial mindset that this was done solely to Microsoft's advantage and being anti-consumer, it was most likely done not to prevent silly things like Linux running on the box, but to prevent cheaters from modifying their boxes in such a way as to ruin the online experience for others.
It wouldn't take all that many cheaters with modded boxes to tank any online network's value to the average casual gamer.
Of course, there's the side benefit of punishing those who mod their boxes for copyright infringement purposes.
Microsoft may lose more money on a per unit basis to build the xbox, but Sony wasted more in R&D just to arrive at the PS2,3, 4, etc....
Yes, but Microsoft unfortunately doesn't have the first f**king clue about the electronics market. Sony does, in fact Sony are the biggest electronics manufacturer in the world. The reason that Sony don't just throw a bunch of off-the-shelf components into a box is because they understand their business better than Microsoft do.
Give it a couple of years and I'll bet you'll see Microsoft giving up on the X-Box.
Why?
The first, and perhaps most important reason is "Because I can." We're geeks. Geeks modify things just to show that they can, to excersize their geek skills, to reveal in the technology.
Second, for $200 I can get a machine with a stereo eqiupment form factor that will me a great mp3 and ogg vorbis player with visualization on my TV (great for parties), plays dvds, plays many classic games (courtesy of MAME, ScummVM, and others), browses the web (say, tvguide.com for listings), and if you're desperate can be used to ssh into work to fix something. For that, it's pretty good deal.
If you really want M$ to lose money, figure out a way around their copy protection, write an emulator, and watch how fast ISO images of the games start floating around IRC and p2p networks. Don't feed the beast by buying another xbox please!
...
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... all the people who steal, vandalize, or generally fuck shit up for fun/profit, then justify it with half-assed anti-establishment ramblings. I've seen it in the punk rock scene, and I've seen it with geeks. It's all the same old bullshit and frankly I'm tired of it.
Yeah! And who cares about all the game development houses who will be losing potential sales as a result of your elite 0-day warezing
Or all of us who have to pay more for slower bandwidth because of selfish hogs flooding the pipes with illegal ISO's
I'd rather "feed the beast" than stoop lower than them, stealing games under the guise of some techno-freedom fighter sabotaging the Goliath.
All that said, it's not the actual criminals/pirates/etc that bother me. It's the hypocrites
-Mani
For all things that can be done with Linux installed in the console, I would like to be able to replace the Xbox drive with a higher capacity HDD and be able to partition it (one partition for a Linux filesystem, the other one for a regular 10GB Xbox filesystem).
If not possible, then how about mounting a NFS filesystem from another computer in the network, leaving the internal HDD untouched? I would still need to mount a remote filesystem in order to access my nearly 50GB worth of A/V files, as they won't fit into the regular Xbox HDD.
Lastly, a very important point here is that even though it is very useful to be able to convert the Xbox into a cheap and powerful $200 computer and use it as an A/V player in my huge TV, etc., I still want to use the machine in the way it was designed for, and that means running my legally owned games flawlessly.
What I really need is a non-intrusive Linux installation, such as the one in the Dreamcast. I know it might never be possible to run unsigned code without modifying the hardware, but THAT would be too much to ask.
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!
Question: Are the HOWTO's mentioned hosted on an XBOX running Linux and Apache? That'd be cool...
Point: The DMCA only kicks in if you are circumventing encryption (i.e. to play illegally copied games). If I'm correct, this setup uses the mod chip to entirely bypass the existing OS. So you aren't even running the OS that has the decryption. It should only be illegal if you employ some Linux based software to then circumvent encryption on commerical software or games.
I can't see how the DMCA could be used against someone just running Linux and freeware on the Xbox.
Come play Moral Decay!
Looking at the instructions you mention the possibility of breaking the XBox multiple times. Doesn't seem worth it except for those who use a soldering iron with delicate hardware on a regular basis.
There is no longer anything that can be done with computers that is nontrivial and clearly legal. -- Paul Phillips